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METALCON selects 2007 recipient of steel-framed home

METALCON International, Newton, Mass., an annual conference and exhibition for the metal construction industry, has selected U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Evan Morgan as the recipient of the METALCON 2007 steel structure, a steel-framed house.

METALCON began an initiative in 1994 to donate each structure built for the show to a nonprofit organization or a worthy cause. This is the second consecutive year it has donated its steel structure to an injured veteran.

Morgan was with a U.S. Army Special Forces unit that was hit by an improvised explosive device in Iraq in January 2005. He lost his left leg below the knee, his right leg above the knee, and the sight in his right eye. After he was fitted with prosthetic legs, Morgan learned how to walk again and later began swimming and biking with a hand cycle.

The 1,800-sq.-ft. house has three bedrooms and two bathrooms, and is designed for handicap accessibility. Worthington Integrated Building Systems, Columbus, Ohio, donated all framing and truss materials, and DeWALT, Baltimore, donated a supply of its DW 268 Versa Clutch 2,500-RPM screw guns. After the show, METALCON planned to work with Homes for Our Troops (HFOT), Taunton, Mass., to have the house finished for Morgan, his wife, and his five-month-old daughter.

Sponsored by the Metal Construction Association (MCA), Glenview, Ill., and produced by PSMJ Resources Inc., Newton, Mass., the conference and exhibition ran Oct. 3-5 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.